Hollywood v. Hard Core

How the Struggle Over Censorship Created the Modern Film Industry

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Film, History & Criticism, Performing Arts
Cover of the book Hollywood v. Hard Core by Jon Lewis, NYU Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jon Lewis ISBN: 9780814729335
Publisher: NYU Press Publication: September 1, 2002
Imprint: NYU Press Language: English
Author: Jon Lewis
ISBN: 9780814729335
Publisher: NYU Press
Publication: September 1, 2002
Imprint: NYU Press
Language: English

In 1972, The Godfather and Deep Throat were the two most popular films in the country. One, a major Hollywood studio production, the other an independently made "skin flick." At that moment, Jon Lewis asserts, the fate of the American film industry hung in the balance.
Spanning the 20th century, Hollywood v. Hard Core weaves a gripping tale of censorship and regulation. Since the industry's infancy, film producers and distributors have publicly regarded ratings codes as a necessary evil. Hollywood regulates itself, we have been told, to prevent the government from doing it for them. But Lewis argues that the studios self-regulate because they are convinced it is good for business, and that censorship codes and regulations are a crucial part of what binds the various competing agencies in the film business together.
Yet between 1968 and 1973 Hollywood films were faltering at the box office, and the major studios were in deep trouble. Hollywood's principal competition came from a body of independently produced and distributed films--from foreign art house film Last Tango in Paris to hard-core pornography like Behind the Green Door--that were at once disreputable and, for a moment at least, irresistible, even chic. In response, Hollywood imposed the industry-wide MPAA film rating system (the origins of the G, PG, and R designations we have today) that pushed sexually explicit films outside the mainstream, and a series of Supreme Court decisions all but outlawed the theatrical exhibition of hard core pornographic films. Together, these events allowed Hollywood to consolidate its iron grip over what films got made and where they were shown, thus saving it from financial ruin.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In 1972, The Godfather and Deep Throat were the two most popular films in the country. One, a major Hollywood studio production, the other an independently made "skin flick." At that moment, Jon Lewis asserts, the fate of the American film industry hung in the balance.
Spanning the 20th century, Hollywood v. Hard Core weaves a gripping tale of censorship and regulation. Since the industry's infancy, film producers and distributors have publicly regarded ratings codes as a necessary evil. Hollywood regulates itself, we have been told, to prevent the government from doing it for them. But Lewis argues that the studios self-regulate because they are convinced it is good for business, and that censorship codes and regulations are a crucial part of what binds the various competing agencies in the film business together.
Yet between 1968 and 1973 Hollywood films were faltering at the box office, and the major studios were in deep trouble. Hollywood's principal competition came from a body of independently produced and distributed films--from foreign art house film Last Tango in Paris to hard-core pornography like Behind the Green Door--that were at once disreputable and, for a moment at least, irresistible, even chic. In response, Hollywood imposed the industry-wide MPAA film rating system (the origins of the G, PG, and R designations we have today) that pushed sexually explicit films outside the mainstream, and a series of Supreme Court decisions all but outlawed the theatrical exhibition of hard core pornographic films. Together, these events allowed Hollywood to consolidate its iron grip over what films got made and where they were shown, thus saving it from financial ruin.

More books from NYU Press

Cover of the book After Welfare by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book A Rabble in Arms by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book Women of the Street by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book Civil Justice Reconsidered by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book Outside the Lines by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book Forgotten Trials of the Holocaust by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book Against All Odds by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book Parenting Out of Control by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book The Production of American Religious Freedom by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book The Radical Lives of Helen Keller by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book Transforming Citizenships by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book Stories from Trailblazing Women Lawyers by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book Evangelical Feminism by Jon Lewis
Cover of the book Seriatim by Jon Lewis
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy